It is also entirely fair to say that “no one is irreplaceable” at liverpool, as pep lijnders insists. During his time as reds boss, jurgen klopp has rarely attempted to denounce injury problems, with the manager keen to find solutions rather than excuses. But he must be privately muttering about the bad luck he has had on the fitness front since the start of december. Thiago alcantara is now in his 11th month since his most recent start, and klopp has been unable to give valuable development minutes to players like conor bradley and stefan bajcetic in the europa league or domestic cups ties since october, and he has also been unable to call upon andy robertson since october due to a shoulder injury sustained while on international duty.
Liverpool has been besieged by further problems that are already starting to mount up towards the turn of 2024 following the return of premier league football after the november international break. In recent weeks, alisson becker, alexis mac allister, and dominik szoboszlai have all missed games, while robertson’s deputised for him suffered a fractured collarbone just before christmas, and joel matip’s fine season was cut short at the start of december against fulham.